Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my recent interview experience with Walmart, in the hope that it might help others who are preparing for similar technical interviews or situations.

The interview was with a Principal Engineer, and it started off on an uncomfortable note. The very first question seemed designed to trip me up, with very vague requirements. I had to spend quite a bit of time trying to clarify the problem before I could even start thinking about a solution, which added unnecessary pressure to the situation.

During the technical portion, we discussed searching in a Binary Search Tree (BST). The interviewer incorrectly stated that searching in a BST would take O(nlogn) time, which I attempted to correct by explaining the time complexity is actually O(logn) in a balanced tree. However, rather than engaging with my explanation or offering feedback, the interviewer simply told me not to use certain methods without clearly justifying why my approach wouldn’t work. This created an awkward situation where I felt like there was no real conversation happening.

Next, we moved on to a problem that seemed to be the 3Sum problem from LeetCode. The problem was vague, and I had to spend a lot of time asking clarifying questions. Once I figured out the problem, the interviewer insisted on solving it in O(logn) time, which I explained was not possible given the problem constraints. I ended up providing an O(n^2) solution, which is generally accepted as the optimal solution, but the interviewer kept insisting on the O(logn) complexity, which seemed to show a lack of understanding of the problem or an unwillingness to consider other approaches.

Additionally, when I was coding my solution, the interviewer suddenly mentioned that I only had 5 minutes left, even though I had already been working on the problem for 15 minutes. This created even more pressure and made it difficult to finish the problem or explain my solution properly. The interview ended up lasting only 42 minutes.

There was also a point when I asked about the tech stack the team uses, and instead of answering the question, the interviewer made a comment comparing a Oracle Staff Engineer to a Walmart Principal Engineer. This comparison didn’t seem relevant at all to my question and only reinforced my feeling that the interviewer had already made up their mind about my candidacy based on my resume, without giving me a fair chance to demonstrate my skills.

In conclusion, I felt that this interview lacked engagement and constructive feedback. The interviewer seemed closed off to my approaches, and the entire process felt rushed and unclear. It left me questioning whether the decision had already been made based on my resume rather than my technical abilities. I’d recommend that companies review their interview processes to ensure that they foster fair and productive interactions, allowing candidates to showcase their abilities properly.

Has anyone else experienced something similar, where the interview feels like it’s already decided before it starts? Would love to hear your thoughts.